Britain Bows to Terrorism by Banning Geert Wilders

Basmallah, 3 1/2, shares what she has been taught about Jews,
in the short film
Fitna

Last week, Great Britain shamefully denied entry to Geert Wilders, an elected member of the Dutch parliament, who had been invited to a screening of his film Fitna in front of the British House of Lords. It reportedly was the first time that Britain had denied entry to a duly elected legislator from a fellow European Union country.

Why did Britain take this drastic action?

The meeting of Mr. Wilders and members of the British Parliament had originally been planned for 29 January, but was postponed. Lord Nazir Ahmed, a Muslim member of the House of Lords (Labour), had threatened to mobilize 10,000 Muslims to prevent Mr. Wilders from entering the British Parliament. Lord Ahmed boasted in the Pakistani press that the cancellation of Mr. Wilders’ visit was “a victory for the Muslim community.”

More precisely, it was a victory for Islamic extremism, which once again successfully uses the threat of violence to push around a major Western power.

I highly recommend watching Fitna, which is available online in English translation — although be warned that it contains gruesome images, many of which you have seen before. As described by National Review contributor (and former federal prosecutor) Andrew C. McCarthy:

Fitna runs about 15 minutes long. It depicts a phenomenon familiar to Britons who witnessed July 7 and Americans who lived through September 11: The faithful rendition of verses from the Koran, often recited by influential Islamic clerics, followed by acts of terrorism committed by Muslim militants who profess that they are simply putting those scriptures into action. To be sure, this is not the dominant interpretation among the world’s billion-plus Muslims, most of whom do not so much interpret their creed as ignore those parts that would otherwise trouble them. But to deny that Fitna reflects an intellectually consistent construction of Islam, adhered to by an energetic minority, is to deny reality.

Wilders leaves no doubt that he believes Islam itself is the problem, not just a small band of fanatics who have tried, as a recent president was known to say, to “hijack one of the world’s great religions.” Wilders ends the film with these words crawling up the screen:

For it is not up to me, but to Muslims themselves to tear out the hateful verses from the Quran.

Muslims want you to make way for Islam, but Islam does not make way for you.

The Government insists that you respect Islam, but Islam has no respect for you.

Islam wants to rule, submit, and seeks to destroy our western civilization.

In 1945, Nazism was defeated in Europe. In 1989, communism was defeated in Europe.

Now, the Islamic ideology has to be defeated.

Strong stuff, but as John O’Sullivan writes in the New York Post:

You may object that “Fitna” is one-sided or the Koranic quotations are wrenched from their context. If such criticisms have merit, surely the correct response is to debate with Wilders, not ban him.

Wilders is by no means above reproach, and he does the cause of free expression a disservice by calling for the Quran to be banned in the Netherlands. But his pending prosecution, under a hate-crimes law in the Netherlands that could send him to prison for up to two years, is an abomination in a nation that nominally values civil liberties.

Fitna is, in fact, filled with hate speech, and you’ll have no trouble spotting it in the film. It comes from the pages of the Quran and from the mouths of the Muslim extremists. There is plenty of room to argue that Wilders’ message is distasteful or overwrought, and Muslims and non-Muslims alike deserve every opportunity to make those arguments — peacefully. By prosecuting Wilders and declaring him persona non grata, the Netherlands and Britain are proving once again what Western nations have been demonstrating for years: terrorism works.

4 thoughts on “Britain Bows to Terrorism by Banning Geert Wilders

  1. Excellent posting.
    As a Dutch, living in a Muslem country, Turkey, I only can say: wake up, before it’s too late.
    I travelled too more than 50 countries, lived in 8, included 3 times the USA (NYC, LA, Miami) and the USA is too naiv.
    Kindest
    hans

  2. I agree with you and actually wrote about this too from a UK perspective : –

    http://www.caledonian-comment.com/?p=5019

    The UK establishment appease Islam for reasons of political correctness, cowardice, electoral vote-grubbing and also naive ignorance. This latter condition arises because most of the Cabinet were students during the 80’s and came from middle-class, mildly anti-semitic, feather-bedded families. They’ve been cocooned from the real world ever since. If they were on the street in England they’d understand the Muslim problem better – and the sooner they wake up the better, or there will be big trouble, because the UK non-Muslims, both white AND black, are getting really pissed off.

  3. O_O

    That…is really scary. Actually, I’m not sure what’s scarier–that Britain gave in and banned the guy, or that he could go to jail for his video.

    The only major difference I see between the ideologies he listed is that, when they were defeated, Nazism and Communism weren’t protected by political correctness.

  4. Kyra, I think the jail thing is scarier. That’s why I think people should watch Fitna — it consists of quoting Muslims and Muslim scripture, and implying that they mean it. And a civilized Western country may send him to jail for it.

    Jim, thanks for the support. I read your post, I’m uncomfortable with the idea of “banning all the nut cases,” because it gives someone the power to decide who is a nut.

    Internation, welcome. Your homeland seems to be on the front lines of confronting Islamic extremism in Europe, between Wilders and my hero, Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

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